I Am the Madman of This Family

Episode 25. Let’s work together (4)

A commoner cannot even look directly at the face without the permission of the Senate and the aristocrat. That is the strict law of Lillian Kingdom.

Ultima is also a high-ranking citizen, just before the nobility, but it is only a ‘citizen’. He had to show utmost courtesy to Keter, a blood relative of the nobles of the Senate.

Tuk-tuk.

Keter kicked Ultima’s knee with her toe.

“It’s such a hard title between us, let’s do business, business.”

“business… … .”

Words are business, and it has become a thorough relationship between A and B.

“Let’s settle the fraud neatly.”

Keter skips over the introduction and starts with the conclusion. Ultima seemed dizzy from the start.

“Keter. If you want money, just tell me how much you want. If you let me go, I will definitely pay for your life.”

“This is the part where you decide whether or not to die, so why are you in such a hurry? Will you also return if you die?”

“What is that again?”

“Or pay for everything stolen from Sephira.”

“… Admitting fraud will damage the company’s reputation. It’s like killing me.”

“Uh-huh- Do you do business once or twice? It’s okay if you blame your subordinate for making a mistake. If you acknowledge that and compensate, your reputation will go up.”

That’s right, but what is the benefit to Keter by doing so? As a member of Sephira, why don’t you tell Sephira that I’m cheating?

Ultima decided not to have any more unanswered questions.

“Yeah, let’s say that I admit my mistake, reduce Sephira’s debt, and even pay compensation. After that?”

“There are things to dispose of, buy some.”

“disposal?”

Ultima’s nose flared. Even in a sh*tty situation, he smelled the money with his instinct as a merchant.

At that time, a voice calling Ultima was heard from afar.

“Supra Lord! Lord of Ultima! Where are you?”

“Deacon Hans is looking for you!”

Ultima winked at what to do, and Keter took the lead and said.

“Let’s go. and have a little laugh I hate you if you don’t smile.”

“Huh, okay, let’s go.”

Why are the liqueurs so afraid of Kether?

That’s why. The intention is visible but not visible, and the words seem to communicate but do not.

Besides, he was a fighting maniac who ignored even pain and death, so he had no weaknesses.

Ultima, reminded of a nightmare in Liqueur, had no choice but to follow Keter to the front door of Sephira while trembling in disgust.

* * *

“You’re back, Ultima Sangju! huh?”

The person waiting for Ultima at the front door was Hans, the financial butler of the Sephira family.

Hans was startled to find Keter right next to Ultima.

“Aren’t you, Master Keter? What’s going on here… … ?”

“What is the old man doing?”

“Ah, I am Hans, the butler in charge of the family’s finances.”

“He was the old Hans. The two of you had something to talk about. You do it yourself.”

“Oh, thank you. It’s an urgent matter anyway.”

Hans looked at Ultima again and was startled.

“Why are you sweating so much and why are your cheeks so swollen?”

Ultima laughed awkwardly and made excuses.

“I went into the woods to do some errands and was bitten by an insect. It’s because I’m nervous about sweating. It’s better than it looks, so don’t worry about it.”

“Ah, that’s right. Elder Leganon allowed us to meet. Let’s go to the waiting room right now.”

Meeting the elder of Sephira was Ultima’s longed-for goal. However, he had no intention of meeting him while carrying a time bomb called Keter next to him.

“no. I suddenly have an urgent business, so I think I have to go. sorry.”

Swoop.

At that time, Keter, who had been listening quietly, placed a hand on Ultima’s shoulder.

“Are you going to meet with Elder Leganon? why?”

“No big deal. It’s really nothing, so don’t worry about it.”

Ultima actively denied it, so Keter’s gaze turned to Hans.

Hans didn’t have a crush on Keter, but rather kept his word because he was wary.

But Kether is not soft enough to tolerate silence.

“Inspired by Hans. What are you keeping your mouth shut for? Just looking at it, you can see that the family finances have been completely ruined.”

“… … !”

No one gave a hint, but Keter hit it right away.

Hans looked at Ultima. ‘Why did you tell Master Keter about that?’

Ultima averted Hans’ eyes.

‘I don’t care.’

Keter intervened between the two of them.

“Stop watching. I’ll be fine.”

Unable to overcome Keter’s pressure, the two eventually made their way to the waiting room where Leganon was waiting.

* * *

The elder of the Sephira family, Leganon.

The father-in-law of Count Basil Sephira, he is staying deep underground.

That’s why he came up to the ground after many years. It was because of the earnest request of the butler ‘Hans’.

Hans’ financial situation is not good for the Sephira family, and he asked Ultima, the creditor, to persuade him to extend the grace period.

“… … .”

Leganon, sitting in the audience room, was bony.

My skin had become dull with age, but without flesh, I felt like a patient nearing death.

Two people were sitting in front of him.

The one sitting on the left is Ultima, the owner of the Ultima Merchant, whom Deacon Hans asked to meet.

And I could tell who the man sitting on the right was without anyone telling me. A man who resembles Basil’s youthful appearance when he was full of blood. Basil’s illegitimate son, Kether.

But why is he sitting next to the top of Ultima?

Leganon turned his head and asked Butler Hans, who was standing behind him.

“Hans. Why is Keter with you?”

The answer was not from Hans, but from Keter.

“The family elder came to see someone’s face.”

“I saw it, so let’s go.”

“Hey, why are you acting so small? Grandpa.”

“You and I did not mix a drop of blood. Don’t be mistaken.”

“Does blood have to be mixed to be a family? We are all family when we live under one roof.”

Not only Hans but also Ultima were astonished at Keter’s sassy way of talking.

No matter how poor the family head was, such rudeness was unforgivable to the elder of the family. Strictly, depending on the degree, Sephira’s ‘castle’ may be stripped and kicked out.

‘Keter, you break the madman record every minute.’

‘Mi, are you crazy?’

Ultima shook her head again at Keter’s lunacy, and Hans had only heard rumors of Keter, but it was the first time he’d actually seen someone do something crazy, so he was dizzy.

And it should have been no different than Leganon.

“They say you were born in a lawless city, but you show that you haven’t been trained in etiquette.”

However, instead of getting angry, Leganon rebuked Keter in a calm tone. Relaxing like a child.

Keter, who stood up to him, was also formidable.

“It’s true, so there’s no harm. Isn’t the elder the father of the deceased Countess Olive?”

To Leganon, olives are the opposite. It would be reckless for anyone to touch it, which could lead to death at any moment—but Keter calmly stuck her head into the lion’s jaws.

“right. Who is your mother?”

“I don’t know either, so I have to ask my father to find out.”

“Since we picked you up after being abandoned by your mother, shouldn’t you feel a little grateful?”

“Couldn’t you have picked it up a little earlier? Then I would have been grateful.”

“Seeing that he doesn’t say a word, he’s definitely related to Basil. Yes, the top of Ultima. Why did you want to see me?”

Leganon changes the subject to Ultima as naturally as water flows.

Keter was genuinely amazed.

‘I ignored it because it was an inspiration I had never seen before. It’s a bit of inspiration.’

His speech skills are also good, but his calmness of keeping his cool is especially outstanding.

Even strong people can judge each other’s skills by sword facing each other just once, Keter fully felt this even in the short conversation.

‘It’s an inspiration worth observing.’

retreat to advance. Keter quietly handed over the initiative of the conversation to Leganon.

Meanwhile, Ultima’s back was wet as she met Leganon’s eyes. Originally, I was trying to meet Leganon with the intention of humiliating him by pressuring him under the pretext of debt.

As a result, it lowers the honor of the Sephira family and spreads distrust within.

Although this was the original plan-

Glance.

Ultima glanced at Keter sitting next to her.

Everything is ruined because of this guy.

Besides, you’re an outsider in front of you, and you’re arguing with Elder Leganon?

It’s admirable that Leganon didn’t lose his dignity in the face of Keter’s rude words, but it was also true that it upset him.

A conversation with someone who is not in a good mood. Even if the opponent is in the position of A, there is no mate. It was a very unfavorable situation for Ultima.

Fortunately, this place was created to admit and apologize for one’s sins.

The ‘settlement scam’ is decorated with a ‘mistake’ to further strengthen the relationship with the Sephira family.

If Keter had told him to reveal the fraud, Ultima would never have come here. Then, it would give the Sephira family ‘justification not to have to repay the debt’.

Ultima couldn’t fathom Keter’s thoughts.

‘I heard that the Sephira family is the best family on the continent, so why are you helping me?’

Ultima, who had been wasting time starting with a trivial greeting, came to her senses at Leganon’s words.

“Ultima top lord. I’m not saying what I wanted to say from a while ago. Won’t you tell me now?”

Ultima took a deep breath, buying another beat, and spoke in a serious tone.

“First, I have to say I’m sorry.”

Ultima got lucky in earnest.

“About what?”

In response to Leganon’s question, Leganon began to explain his ‘fraud’ with Sephira by beautifying it as a ‘mistress’ mistake’.

“It looks like my subordinate has been making a settlement mistake. I discovered it late, but I’m trying to correct the mistake now.”

The content of the mistake he was talking about was as follows.

A subordinate in charge of accounting stole the money by manipulating the quantity supplied to the Sephira family. Ultima discovered this belatedly, and is about to apologize even now.

The amount of damage caused to the Sephira family will be sorted out in the near future and a statement will be sent to you, and the difference will be forgiven from the debt.

In addition, although it was a subordinate’s mistake, the upper lord was responsible for not noticing it until now, so he said that he would remove an additional 50,000 gold from his debt as compensation.

“The subordinate who stole the items behind ran away at night, but we will catch him soon and pay for the crime of playing with the Sephira family.”

“… … .”

After hearing the whole story, Leganon didn’t say anything and looked straight into Ultima’s eyes.

Ultima also met Leganon’s eyes with unwavering eyes.

Although she was robbed by Keter, Ultima also has experience comparable to that of a veteran, and is a warrior who does not fear death.

Soon he succeeded in holding out without being entangled in Leganon’s silence trying to find out what was going on.

“I guessed that the family was in debt. But I didn’t know that even a single merchant was in debt. How much?”

“yes. Originally, there was a debt of 570,000 gold, but 520,000 in total, excluding the promised reward of 50,000. The amount for the missing quantity will need to be investigated closely. I’m guessing around 100,000 gold. So, roughly 420,000 gold is the total amount of debt.”

At the words of 420,000 gold, Leganon sighed.

“Were the Sephira family in debt because they didn’t have 500,000 gold? It is deplorable.”

500,000 gold is absolutely not ‘only’. Even from the point of view of the nobles of the Senate, it is a large sum that makes the sound of ‘huck’.

However, if the subject is a prestigious family, the story is different. If you are from a prestigious family, it is normal for your finances to be strong enough that there is no problem even if you spontaneously spend 1 million gold.

The reason the Sephira family was poor was not just because support from the royal family was persecuted.

Lack of private sources of income.

This was the biggest cause of Sephira’s poverty.

Originally, aristocrats can make a living with just the subsidy provided by the state, but no aristocrat is satisfied with that.

It is common sense to want to grow more power, so seek growth by pioneering a separate source of income.

However, Sephira did not particularly focus on power and power expansion. Since he could do everything with only the support from the royal family, there was no urgency to expand his finances.

Leganon, who lived at that time, smiled bitterly at the current Sephira situation.

“Anyway, thank you to Ultima Sangju. Admitting your mistakes and accepting the loss. Indeed, it was as dignified as that of nobility.”

The corner of Ultima’s lips, which received high praise, was about to go up-

Keter pinched Ultima’s waist and whispered very softly.

“Who wants to be happy?”

Ultima immediately let go of her laughter and said.

“no. I’m not worth listening to. Elder Leganon does not have to forgive me for my mistakes.”

“No. i forgive you You have already received compensation, so why not forgive?”

“You are too considerate.”

“So, is this the end of the story?”

“ah… … .”

Seeing Keter notice, Ultima spoke half a beat late.

“yes. Wouldn’t it be obvious rudeness to hold on to the already busy elder for so long?”

Leganon quietly rose from his seat and held out his bony right hand.

“It was nice to meet you. Ultima top lord.”

Ultima supported Leganon’s hand with both hands and kissed the back of it.

“I was also honored.”

Just before Leganon left the audience room, he turned around and looked at Keter. Keter was also looking at Leganon, so their eyes met.

“… keep calm and go That would benefit the statue.”

Leganon just said what I said and left.

Ultima was excited, Hans was anxious. Indeed, will Keter stay still?

Fortunately, Keter didn’t talk back.

instead-

Remembrance.

He threw a potato fist at Leganon’s back. A very gigantic and dignified fist potato.